Sugarcreek Veterinarian recounts missions trip to Mideast

Thursday

Apr 23, 2009 at 4:05 AM

By CHRIS KICKStaff WriterMOUNT HOPE -- A veterinarian from Sugarcreek Veterinary Clinic told Holmes County dairy farmers at their annual banquet about the dairy industry he encountered on a missions trip to the Middle East. Rick Daugherty showed the county's dairymen a slide show and told them about the many challenges faced by Middle East dairy farmers, as well as some of their successes.Daugherty visited the region in September and compared the climate to "a very hot Wyoming," with daytime temperatures around 95 degrees.One of the biggest concerns of the region is water. The rainy period is very short and the biggest source of water is the Nile River, where most of the agriculture is centered."Water is always at a premium over there and that kind of dictates where people can live," Daugherty said. Daugherty said he visited the countries through a local Christian Outreach organization called Impact Middle East, with the goal of spreading the word of Christ, and also helping the natives with veterinary care and practices.A lot of what he discovered was below U.S. standards, including dirt streets, over-crowded living places, poor quality animals and a lot of animals with sickness.Daugherty said the people he met with were friendly with him and receptive to his ideas, even though he's from a country far more developed and with practices and wealth far superior."They know that we live way better than they do, but they were apologetic for the fact that they couldn't treat us better than they could," Daugherty said. "They were not envious at all. There was no envy at all and they weren't any bit sadder because they were poor; they didn't know they were poor."Daugherty brought back to the States his missions story, and also a better understanding of the superiority of U.S. agriculture. He showed several slides depicting practices that would be restricted in the United States, including hanging butchered animal carcasses outside for long periods."We have the safest food supply in the world, and having been over in Egypt and Iraq, it just affirms this," he said.Reporter Chris Kick can be reached at 330-287-1635 or e-mail ckick@the-daily-record.com.